Iris
by bigcitydream
Summary: Deep in the Forbidden Forest, danger and mystery lurks. James Sirius Potter has never been one to back down from a challenge, however, and often finds himself fascinated by what hides within the shadows. But when Charlotte emerges from the depths of darkness, James finds himself asking questions. Who is this girl, and how did she get here?
1. Found

It was excruciating.

The dagger slashed through my wrist with ease, like a warm knife slicing butter. The pain was slow, deliberate and all too familiar, yet I held no memory of this ever happening before.

I tried to move. With every fibre of my existence, I truly tried to move, but they would not allow me too. Two of them held me down whilst the third one imitated the exact movements she had used to cut my other wrist. I writhed, screamed and recoiled in anguish even though I knew it was useless.

None of them paid attention to me; they were all far too fixated on watching the blood that once flowed thick and scarlet in my veins, now cascading like a waterfall in two glass goblets either side of me.

I could do nothing but swallow the pain and watch the midnight clouds subside to reveal the bright and glaring full moon. Perhaps I should have felt fear, but I didn't. Instead, I felt my body sink into a state of deep relaxation and accept that death may just be around the corner.

My eyelids were slowly starting to droop whilst my last fews breaths began to wilt. The feeling in my body was growing dimmer: I could no longer move legs, my hands, or even lift a finger tip. The three beings that had once held me down in dark masks were now surrounding me and taking sips of my blood from the goblet. Despite this unsettling event, I found my last few breaths caught in my throat as the strangers that stood above me removed their masks, for one of them was my mother.

"Charlotte- Charlotte, wake up... it's time to wake up, girl!"

I was violently shaken awake before a deep and demanding breath forced its way out of my body. Bolting upright in my bed, sweat dripped from every part of me as the memory… the feeling of dying played over in my mind. It was not until I took in my surroundings I noticed I was very much alive and in my small and danky bedroom. Everything was the same, from the paintings of the forest that surrounded our home to the one's I had composed from my very imagination. Even Beast, the one eyed wolf whom I had rescued as a cub, still lay in his usual spot beside me.

"You gone and done it again, girl. I told ya, didn't I? What the hell is wrong with ya," my mother, or Mallory as I called her, spat in my face. Although this bothered me to no end, what ground my teeth even more so was her constant mispronunciation of words.

I chose not correct her. I'd done it once before, and she bloody well made sure I learnt my lesson the first time.

"And look 'ere, you bloodied the sheets," she stood above me and shook her head in disapproval as her wiry grey hair fell in her face.

My eyes followed her glance over my bed and it was the first time I had seen the patches of stained blood within the sheets. I opened my mouth to speak the same moment my mother's large hand grabbed my wrist. Pain shuddered through my body and without thinking, I forced my arm from her grasp and examined the crusted dry blood that lined both my wrists.

In that second all the emotions and memories from last night I seemed to be missing came crashing back to me like harsh waves against rocks.

"Y-You-" I stuttered, and found myself falling off of my bed, trying to put as much distance between my mother and I as possible.

Those stone cold eyes she wore were imprinted in my brain, and the way they had held my glare last night whilst she watched me take my last few breaths.

Something seemed to register within her mind as her eyes suddenly grew soft and she lowered her raised hands.

"Charlotte, dear, c'mon now, you've hurt yourself. Let me help." The way she so swiftly changed her tone of voice and body language reminded me of the time I brought Beast back when he was just a cub. The women had gone berserk just at the sight of the wolf, accusing me of bringing vermin and disease into our home. Just as quickly as she had raised her hand to me back then for disobeying her rules, she had in a blink of an eye composed herself with a hollow smile and told me to go play with my new friend.

This time, however, I refused to ignore the change in my mother's bipolar attitude. The memories from last night felt too real to dismiss, the pain I felt in my wrists were evidence of that.

"Why did you cut me?" I questioned, my voice sounding a lot stronger than I felt. "I-I saw you… last night, with the other two, I watched as you slit my wrists like I'm some sort of meat and then drink my blood? I- I died!"

Maybe I was seeing things through the madness that was my mind right now, but I could swear the grey had disappeared from my mother's hair. It was black, thick and almost youthful looking.

"Rubbish, girl." she cackled, "ya' have done this to yourself. Ya' mad, just like your father-"

"My father?" I spoke over her, bewildered, she'd never so much as mentioned my father before or even what his name is. For as long as I could remember he had always be referred to as the abomination of our life, I never asked why, I had always been too afraid too.

It seemed I had caught her off guard, her eyes were wide like a deer caught in headlights and she was lost for words. I was more than positive she was not suppose to mention him.

She attempted to maneuver around my bed and towards me, but it only forced myself back against the wall even more. "Charlotte, ya' need to stop this stupidity. Ya' hurt yourself in the night, ya' have done it before and I'm sure ya' will do it again," she sighed and went to grasp an object from under my covers. "Look," she held up a dagger, "I don't know how or where ya' got this from, but ya' must have had a nightmare and hurt yourself in the night."

I could only blink in complete confusion as she held up the same dagger I was almost sure was the one that cut me last night.

"Ya' said ya' died last night, but ya' are alive right now, girl. It was a nightmare, that's all." A small and concerned smile resided on my mother's lips, and caused the several warts across her aging face to crinkle more than they should.

My mother was not the most beautiful of women; in fact, she was the only other person I had ever met. The only women I had to compare her to were the ones I saw pictures of in some of my books, and they were fictional. My mother however, was not, her face was long and pointed with a nose that appeared to have been broken numerous times. Her hair was a wild mane of ugly black tangles and she didn't exactly smell any better either.

It was strange to say the least; I looked nothing like her. Whenever I had had the chance to catch a glimpse of myself in one of the forests ponds, not once had I spotted any moles or warts upon my face. My hair was an abundance of annoying raven coloured curls and I stood at least a couple of inches taller than her. Not to the mention her eyes were a stone cold blue that could pierce your soul at times. Whereas my own were a duller shade of green, definitely not blue.

Shaking my head, I thought maybe she's right, maybe it was a nightmare, but it still irked me that I couldn't shake the feeling that I actually had passed away last night.

After several more moments of trying to calm me, my mother left me to clean myself and gather my thoughts. I walked through the small room and out into the basking sunlight of the cool autumn morning. The forest I was raised in and knew all too well loomed over our small hut we called a home, the branches reaching out and protecting us within their shadows. I was not sure how long we had live here in this forest or even where here was. Of course, I knew there were different cities and towns around the world, I was not born yesterday. It had always been a dream of mine to travel, perhaps visit France, the home of my favourite book, Beauty and the Beast. But it was only that: a dream.

My mother told me the world was a nasty place, full of creatures that would could obliterate you with a wave of a stick; Witches and Wizards she called them. She said they were magical beings that used sticks they called wands, and these wands held the darkest of magic. When I was younger, she would tell me bedtime stories every night about a boy with a lightning bolt for a scar who grew up to become this century's most evil wizard. He had wiped out most of the the world's population and that was why we lived secluded and hiding in the forest, trying to survive.

I never complained. I quite enjoyed the outdoors and our little box home.

A metal tub sat outside of the front door, just big enough that it allowed me to fit in it. Like every other morning after years of practise, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the thought of a steady stream, imagining as though there was water running through me and into the tub. When I finally let my eyes flutter back open, the tub was full of murky but clean water. Although was still cold to touch, no matter how hard I tried I could never seem to channel my magic well enough to make the water even the slightest bit warm.

I stripped off all my bearings and winced as I stepped into the ice cold water. The cool temperature momentarily chilled me, but I bared it.

I bathed for what felt like hours, dipping myself under the water and watching as the dried blood from my wrists turned the water a dirty red. It did not prevent me from washing my body and hair, and allowing myself a few moments of peace before finally hauling myself out of the tub. The cold of the autumn breeze hit my body like a thousand needles, but I was happy the pain I felt in my wrists had finally subsided to a dull ache, as it had already scabbed over.

After I dressed myself in one of the few pieces of clothing I owned; a pair of loose cotton trousers and once white t shirt that is a few sizes too small for me, I walked into the kitchen come living room.

The wasn't much of this room; the kitchen was lined up against one side of the wall with a gas hob and metal sink we had to conjure water for. An old wooden bookcase stood to the right of the room, filled with unread books that held thousands of majestic words that my mother nor me could begin to comprehend. I had learnt to read basic words when I was young as it was all my mother could teach me, anything descriptive I was still attempting to teach myself. This, however, did not stop me from reading and slowly getting better. A pile of large books sat beside the bookcase in a messy pile, these were the ones I had completed; the ones with more pictures than words.

I glanced around the room, it was the only other one within our home besides my own. Sometimes I dreamt I lived in a grander house than this one; every room was filled with my paintings on the walls of the different places I had travelled, the kitchen was separate from the living room and it even had its own bathroom with running hot water. I did not live on my own of course, there was always a man in my dreams, like the ones from the books I read, they loved me and we always lived happily. However, that was all it was, just a silly dream.

My mother always told me I should grateful for what I had and that my dreams were just silly fantasies formed from my selfish imagination.

I sighed, maybe I should count myself lucky to be alive within this world we lived in.

The similar scent of some concoction my mother makes me drink everyday, wafted through the room and made my head feel dreary.

She has never told me what is in this drink, but from the books I've read and the ingredients I have been made to harvest from the forests ground, I have learnt one ingredient is mistletoe berries.

"Now, girl, like we've practised everyday, wave ya' hand over the cauldron and say-"

"Obliviate." I utter the word before she can tell me, my head in another place and instantly know something has gone wrong. The hideous square of fabric we call a sofa suddenly decides to combust and I know it's my doing.

My mother slammed her fist down on the kitchen counter and had to inhale a deep breath to calm herself. "Charlotte," she breathed, "Why are ya' always away the fairies. We've talked about this, ya' just can't go doing magic willy nilly. Ya' know how sensitive ya' are to it. Now take a deep breath," I done as she says and inhaled the musky smell of the liquid, "Think of ya' happiest thought and say Obliviate."

The memory came quickly to me, swirling into my mind in a puff of smoke and forming itself into the shape of an apple tree. I heard laughter- children laughing, a boy to be specific and smelt the scent of freshly cut grass. I knew it was not a real memory, simply one within my wildest imagination, yet it's the happiest one I have.

I smiled and let the words spill so confidently from my lips, I hardly sounded like myself, "Obliviate."

This time nothing exploded, except for the sound of my mother's gasp. I opened my eyes to witness hundreds of the iris flower blossoming from the floorboards and could not help but allow a smile to grace my lips. This always happened, every time I felt an emotion of overwhelming happiness the flower grew out of nowhere. I never knew why it was this specific flower, it did not even grow in the forest around us.

With a scowl cemented on her face, the older woman added more ingredients to the concoction and I repeated the word one last time to complete it. She poured the broth like liquid into a small vial and handed it to me.

"Now drink up," she ordered.

It was hard not to wrinkle my nose at the vial, it smelt and not a good sort of smell, "Why do I have to drink this?"

"We 'ave had this conversation before, and I'll tell ya' again. Ya' are special, Charlotte, and this drink will make ya' strong. Now no more questions, ya' have always asked far too many. Drink." She urged the vial into my hands.

With a frown, I couldn't help but become more curious, why was she so insistent I drink this rubbish? It never made me feel any stronger, in fact most the time it made me feel nauseous.

"I just don't understand. I'm not a child anymore, mum. You can tell me if you're poisoning me." I played a joke with a half hearted smile, although my mother's unnerving face told me she wasn't the slightest bit amused.

"Ya' are hardly an adult, ya' are only sixteen, girl. And right now ya' are getting on my last nerve, Now drink from that damn vial." She commanded and I followed her instructions, knocking back the liquid in one.

I shuddered at the taste, never could I get used to it, I only wished I had something strong to chase it down with. Shaking my head, I placed the vial onto the kitchen side and grimaced at a bloodied gash across my wrist, "Mallory, how did I get this cut? It looks nasty."

"Ya' don't remember?"

I shook my head, I would have remembered getting a cut like that.

"Ya' must have fallen over, girl," she shrugged and I copied her actions, sure it was nothing to worry about.

"Well if it's okay I was going to take Beast out and see if I can catch any food for dinner later."

"Mind ya'self out there, remember to stay within the borders of our land and-"

"If I ever see another living person with a wand run as fast and as hard as I can because wizards and witches alike are evil, and will harvest my insides for some conniving evil ritual." My lips tugged into a grin, and I could tell from the scowl on my mother's face, she was not happy with the last part I commented.

"I will never know where ya' got your humour from."

It was not long before I was set with my handmade backpack filled with a bottle of fresh water from a stream that ran alongside our home, and a couple of rock cakes my mother had made that truly did taste more like actual rock than cake. Out here, however, in the woods, I had learnt to accept what was given to me. We lived off of fish we hauled from the stream, or even rabbits I often caught in traps I had learnt to make. Vegetables were few and fair, spread across our small part of the forest that sometimes we had to go weeks without them until they could be harvested again.

If I could've, I would have crossed the border of our land a long time ago to obtain more food, but my mother never deemed it appropriate. According to her; outside of the border was like a warzone and if I stepped over it then I was as good as dead.

Beast trudged along beside me with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. His name truly did not do him justice, he was more beauty than beast and never turned down a good rub of his belly. With fur that was mixed with beautiful greys and browns, and topped with white tipped guard hairs, it was his gold flecked eyes that were the windows of his soul. They were full of emotion I had never felt myself: love and hope. Even as he cocked his head to the side and gazed at me with his rounded eyes, I could see the curiosity swimming in them for the need to run ahead and explore.

I gave a nod and with that, Beast was off running on his hind legs. I ran after him and even though the wolf was twice as fast, I managed to keep sight of him. Running until I couldn't breath anymore, I relished in the sweat that dripped down the back of my neck and in between my shoulder blades. It's what allowed me to feel free, pretending for just a second there were no borders, no evil wizards and simply just my wolf and I.

The sun was warm; beaming but not burning as I came to a halt where Beast had finally decided to settle down in our usual spot. It's a place my mother never came, right along side the border of our land where a light blue vehicle sat. I could tell it was a car from the pictures I had seen in my books, and an old one at that from its rusted exterior. It had been here for as long as I could remember.

It took a hard tug to open the door of the car as I had broke the handle off years ago. I have always liked to think of this place as my secret escape, it's where I always came to think and get away.

Climbing into the passenger seat, I opened the compartment in the front and pulled out a bottle of firewhis-. That's at least what the bottle reads, half the label being ripped off from years of neglect. I had only found the bottle a couple months ago and learnt from just from one swig, its name definitely done it justice; my mouth had been on fire. It's also the one thing that can disguise the taste of the horrid liquid my mother makes me drink.

Knocking back a gulp, I reveled in the taste; letting the burning sensation warm the pit of my stomach. I was just about to take another when Beast began to howl.

"What's up, boy?" I called as I jumped out of the car and witnessed him digging up something from the ground.

Kneeling down beside him, I picked up what seemed to resemble a rather large, burnt black book. I turned it over in my hands and rubbed off the dirt that coats the book's cover, it was hard to make out but I could just about read the title that lined the binding.

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

It's strange, I think, why would there be a book buried on our land?

As curiosity got the better of me, I began to the flick through the pages and words started to jump out at me; dementors, basilisk, inferius, werewolf, vampire, hags. There were far too many to read all at once, but the ones that had my hands shaking were the chapters that held the word 'wand'. I knew this wasn't just any book, it had to be a dark book, one that appeared to hold information about the witches and wizards.

I could not help myself, I had to keep reading.

They say curiosity killed the cat, but it was satisfaction that brought it back, and it was more than satisfaction I felt at that moment. Confusion, fulfillment, fear? All the emotions filled my mind as I skimmed the words of the book, turning page by page.

One excerpt read of a spell or jinx that allowed the caster to 'knock back' their opponent, whilst others told of ways to protect oneself from dark creatures.

I couldn't understand, my mother had told me witches and wizards were malevolent, yet this book taught them of ways to protect themselves against evil? It made no sense.

Turning another page, I began to read the first paragraph about hags when Beast started to growl. From the way his ears had picked up and legs were crouched, fear set into my own features, creasing my brows together.

I crept forward, wary of any pursuers that may be a head and knelt down behave d Beast. I thought perhaps it was another wolf, maybe even a hippogriff and I hoped for anything it wasn't that bloody three headed dog we had once ran for our lives from. What we saw is far beyond anything I've seen before.

A boy stood a good couple feet in front of us, he hadn't noticed us yet and I had to smooth down the fur on Beasts back in order to prevent him for lunging. The first thing I noticed about this boy was the crisp black trousers he was wearing and the white shirt that is crinkled up at the sleeves and stretched tightly across his arms. His hair was a short black mess that curled slightly on top and I suddenly had the urge to make myself noticeable just to see the colour of his eyes.

He was throwing what looked like raw meat at absolutely nothing, yet he laughed and stroked something I could not see.

This boy was crazier than I was.

Beast crouched lower, his growls growing louder and it was enough to earn us a sudden glance from the boy. His eyes widened in fear as he spied Beast and just when I thought he was going to break into a run, he done the unthinkable and pulled out the one thing I was told to make a run from myself; a wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" He yells the moment Beast lunged for him.

His voice was was clear and confident, and I had been a fool to mistake what I thought was fear in his eyes because he was smiling, as if he was proud of himself.

I couldn't stay silent no longer, a scream escaped my mouth as I watched the wolf's body fall stiffly to the ground.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked me, sounding concerned. But I don't answer, I can't. My whole body shook with anger and fear had me cemented to the ground. "I mean what the bloody hell are you doing out in this forest? It's no place for a girl."

All I could do was look at the boy who I now learned had deep brown eyes that sat behind a pair of round spectacles. I no longer cared for the colour of his eyes, instead I wanted with every bone in my body to rip them from his foul skull.


	2. Challenged

_James Sirius Potter_

"Alright James. One night, yeah?"

"One night." I agreed with a firm handshake.

There were cheers all around, bouncing off the elaborately decorated walls of the Gryffindor common room. There were fist pumps and slaps on the back while every Gryffindor from, first year to seventh, stared at me. Most were in awe whilst others held expressions of complete bewilderment.

I knew exactly what they was thinking; that I was a real whackjob. I accepted mentally and physically challenging dares on a regular basis, that no other Gryffindor would even dream of enduring. Hey, maybe they were right, but they couldn't understand the thrill. No one seemed to. To them this was simply the usual crazy bullshit that my cousin Fred and I pulled on a weekly route, each challenge growing more demented by the second.

Just last week Fred had dared me to swim out into the middle of the Great Lake and provoke the giant squid. If you asked me, it wasn't much of a challenge. It had been at least two decades since the last sighting of the squid and I was sure he wasn't going to make a special appearance for the great James Sirius Potter.

All I had to brave was a little bit of swimming and pretend to drown for a few moments before resurfacing. Of course nothing was ever that simple. The thing with Fred was he was like my shadow self; he held all my deepest secrets, knew of that place within me that swarm with my darkest desires and impulses, and he was the only person who could truly make me fear.

Everyone gathered around the lake that day, standing and watching with eager eyes as I prepared for the swim. There was not a time before then when I had failed a challenge and it was like hell I would fail then.

But, much to everyone's disappointment, I did fail. I let down the Gryffindors, my cousin and my two namesakes whom I was sure were snickering down at me from above.

For I, James Sirius, was a coward that day. A bloody weak wizard who had such a trivial fear of swimming and Fred damn well knew that. He knew I would chicken out last minute and he had won. Until now that was.

The aim of the game was simple with the dares; you fail, you try again the next week until success. You win, you set a challenge for the other participant and so on.

"You sure you can handle this, mate? You never know, you might come across a puddle in the forest and run out screaming," Fred thrusted his head back in laughter and I threw a punch to his arm, knocking his tall stature back a few steps.

"Bugger off," I retorted, earning another round of laughter from the Gryffindors. "Need I mention the Whomping Willow incident from last month?" Raising an eyebrow, I knew I had him.

His eyes, the colour of rich country fudge, grew clouded and he ran a hand through his black buzzed cut hair. "Bollocks," he said to me under his breath and turned towards to the crowd, "so we all know the rules, James has to stay in the Forbidden Forest till sunrise. If he comes out before then, well-" Fred grinned, "then that's another challenge for another week, and-"

"If I succeed-" I intervened, trying to bite back the smirk as Amber Finnegan, the sixth year well known for having her amble breasts on show, threw a wink my way. It was a shame she had the personality of a troll. "-Then Freddy here will have to face a dare himself. What would that be, Fred? Your sixth challenge this school year so far? And I mean we're only in October, that's five challenges you've lost and only one for me. I think we all know who's the real winner around here."

I knew I had pissed him off and it was not just from the annoyed expression he glowered at me. Fred was easily the most quick-tempered person I knew. The majority of people, mostly my parents, thought he would adopt his father's gentle manner and more soft sense of humour. But alas, like myself, he took after his namesake's vindictive streak and we both often fought over the role of ring leader. As much as he did not like to admit, he was also a lot like his mother than he let on; at times he could be too serious to handle, or too 'sirius' as I often joked with him. Usually it was best to leave him be and let him cool off, but tonight was not that night.

The rest of the Gryffindors pushed us both out of the common room before he could make a break for it and had us heading toward the wooden bridge. The sun shined bright for an October afternoon and had students from other houses indulging in its glory. They all stopped their games of gobstones and exploding snap, watching cautiously as we all wandered past them.

Well it probably did look somewhat suspicious with a herd of thirty something Gryffindors marching through the courtyard of the school. Especially when said herd was lead by Fred and myself, we seemed to have gained ourselves quite the reputation over our six years at Hogwarts.

The wooden bridge, which had been rebuilt after the war, was still as derelict and sagging as my dad told me it was back in his day. I probably could have done a better job at building it myself. Stuffing my hands in my trouser pockets, I refused to let anyone see them trembling. With so many of us walking across the bridge, I could not help but feel a little anxious it might give way and only basked in the relief once we were across.

"Alright, this is where we leave you," Fred folded his arms across his chest.

We stood close to Hagrid's hut and just a small walk away from the forests entrance. Everyone was gathered in the shape of a crescent and my glance caught those of my siblings. Albus, who was a good headshot shorter than me, held the usual look of concern, he picked away at the loose thread of his school robes and I didn't need a genius to tell me he was frightened I wouldn't come back.

I tried to offer him a smile but he disregarded me with as much as a glance and stalked off.

"James, James-" Fred prodded me with his elbow and I mumbled an apology for not listening. "As I was saying, It's now sixteen hundred hours and sunrise tomorrow is at seven hundred. We'll meet you back here at sunrise, if you're not a coward-"

"I'm no coward," I said sternly, a glint of mischief in my eyes.

Holding up his arms in mock defeat, Fred shared my grin, "Alright, well have fun mate, and if you find gramps' Ford Anglia, remember it's whereabouts. He always used to say it was the one thing he loved more than our grandmother." He smiled sadly and I shared the same expression as he walked me closer to the forest edge where we were out of eavesdrop, "and while we're at it, hand me over the invisibility cloak. Can't have you hiding from the acromantula now, can we?"

Merlin knows how he knew, but I removed the cloak from the backpack that was slouched over my shoulder and regretfully handed it over.

"Think you're forgetting that you're the poor bastard with the deathly fear of spiders, maybe I'll bring one back for you," I slapped his back and Fred glowered at me again.

Miserable bastard he could be sometimes.

"FILCH! HE'S COMING! ABORT, ABORT!" a first year we had put on look out at the bridge, cried out in utmost fear. Why they were afraid of a squib baffled me.

The group of Gryffindors disbanded faster than the Firebolt Supreme, leaving myself and Fred behind. I caught sight of a red faced Filch before being pushed into a thorn bush in the Forbidden Forest. I hadn't even a chance to call Fred the wanker he was as he gallivanted after the other students, his laugh loud and thriving in the distance.

"Son of a banshee," I swore and crouched low as Filch grew closer.

An hour or two must had passed as Filch and his budding kitten Mrs Norris II, patrolled the school green. I dared not even flinch; the damned cat seemed to sense every movement and after appearing satisfied there would be no more trouble, they finally returned to the castle.

With a clear conscience of knowing there would be no detentions today, I made my way further into the forest without the worry of looking over my shoulder.

Fred clearly had no idea when he set this challenge that I would pass with flying colours. In his mind I would not last a minute in these woods; they were swarming with creatures that could possibly kill me and others that would likely enjoy the need to torture me. But unlike the lake, I held no fear in these woods. Death did not scare me, I had seen enough of it to know it was just another chapter in our lives. For losing people close to me only gave me hope to dream there was something beyond that, a place where there was no fear, no loss, just pure bliss.

Pulling my glasses out of my pocket, I slid them onto my face and continued to trek easily through the forest, careful not to trip on branches or wake any unwanted company. Thanks to years of practise on the quidditch team, as well as my father's genes, I was luckily gifted with physical nimbleness that prevented me from falling flat on my face. Moving through the forest came somewhat easy and I knew the exact location I wanted to go.

It was roughly a mile in distance and once there the sun was beginning to set. To other wizarding eyes, this place most likely appeared empty and rather eerie. To me, it was one of the few openings in the forest where sunlight flooded in, kissing the ground with its glow that lit up the small space and vanquished any of the darkness within its reach.

A creature with a dragon like face who bared glittering white eyes, peered at me through the bush of a tree. Like before, I pulled a bag of raw meat from my backpack and threw a slice toward it.

Known for being sinister and cruel, the thestral was anything but. Over the last few years I had come to learn they were loyal creatures, easily knowing a friend from a foe. They always accepted my gift of the raw meat and somehow they also brought me peace when I was around them. Something I could never find amongst the grounds of Hogwarts.

The thestral was wary at first, creeping through the bushes to reveal its bone-like stature that was glossed with a leathery, sleek finish. It was drawn to the blood of the raw meat and hungry, I could tell, from the way he swallowed it so quickly.

"There's more where that came from, buddy." A grin played its way onto my lips, it baffled me how anyone could think of these animals as sinister.

Pulling out a larger piece of meat this time, I extended my hand in invitation for the creature to take the meat. "Go on," I encouraged, and as if understanding me, the thestral inched towards me sheepishly.

He, as I gathered from its particular parts, bent his head down towards my hand and progressed to take the piece of meat. I was even granted the honour of being allowed to stroke its slimy exterior. As if in a state of bliss, the thestral let out a shrill like noise that sounded somewhat like a horse on helium. I couldn't help but throw my head back in laughter, these creatures, though not cruel, were definitely strange.

Three more thestrals appeared from the forest and I learnt perhaps that noise was a beckoning call. The thestral I had been feeding nudged my hand again for another piece of meat. I proceeded to empty the contents of the bag into the forest floor when-

CRACK

The thestrals bolted from the clearing, the one I had been feeding almost taking my hand with him. I snapped my head around in the direction of the loud sound that had scared them off, thinking it was probably just a branch breaking off from a tree. But I couldn't be more wrong. My eyes met those of a curious green pair, a shade of green that brought forth memories of rolling down hills in the spring as a child. Yet these eyes held no happy memories; though they showed a sense of interest, they looked scared and at a loss.

It was when I saw who those pair of eager eyes belonged to that I had to hold my breath. A girl or a woman? I couldn't be sure, her face was young and innocent, with raven coloured hair that fell in spirals down her back. But she had the body of a woman; she was slender but built in all the right places; just staring at the way her hips curved had me swallowing in desire. Her trousers were baggy and covered in paint, and she wore a top obviously too small for her that I couldn't help but notice how her nipples was showing through them.

 _Fuck._

Too busy staring at the girl, it took the growl of a wolf to snap me out of the transfix she had me in. Wait, a wolf?

Built on pure reflex, I grasped my wand from my trouser pocket and cast it towards the wolf just as it lunged for me.

" _Petrificus Totalus_!" I yelled as the power of the spell coursed through my veins, leaving a satisfied smile on my lips.

The wolf's body became stiff and unyielding as it dropped mid air to the ground with a heavy thud, and the once quiet girl let out a piercing scream. It was not until now, with my eyes wide and focused, that I noticed this girl was definitely not all there. Deep gashes lined both her wrists, and they were followed by more scares, old and new ones that travelled the length of her arms.

Her heart shaped face, which I thought was faultless from a distance, was infact tired and worn. Though still beautiful, she looked like she hadn't slept in at least a week. She wore her feet bare and those green eyes bore into me with daggers.

I tried to be careful, kneeling down to her with at least a small distance between us as if not to scare her. "Are you okay?" I asked her but received no answer. It took everything within me not to laugh at how strange this situation was. "I mean what the bloody hell are you doing out in this forest? It's no place for a girl."

Waiting for a few moments, she still only returned so much as a glare my way. Merlin, I thought when you saved a girl's life, they were suppose to grateful at least.

I watched in confusion as she stroked the wolf's fur and a small cry escaped her lips. That was when it clicked; she wore the same expression as I had when I lost someone close to me just last year. It was the sort of pain so visible on ones face that it was almost impossible to hide.

So I done the only thing I could think of as rectifiable and flicked my wand, even if this beast tried to kill me again, " _Finite Incantatem._ "

The wolf's body, no longer affected by the Body Binding Curse, was once again functioning as it coiled into a ball and propped its furry head on the girl. Tears began to fall from her sad eyes and as the realisation that her pet was not actually dead set in, she quickly diverted her glance toward me, questions written all over her face.

I held up my wand in response and this only caused her to shrink further away from me until she was backed up against a tree.

"I swear I'm not gonna hurt you, I just wanna help," I explained and offered my hand to her.

She looked from my wand hand, to my face, and then to my offered hand, her eyebrows creased into a frown that appeared as if she was having an internal battle with herself.

"What if I put the wand away?" I asked, sliding my wand back into my trouser pocket.

This was all too bizarre, I thought, did she even know what a wand was? By her reaction, she definitely appeared to be frightened by it. But this only made me think that perhaps it was the first time she had seen magic, and if so did that make her a muggle, or even a squib?

With questions running through my mind a mile a minute, I hadn't even begun to notice how the sky had so quickly grown darker. Clouds were rolling in on what was supposed to be the sunniest day in October, the Daily Prophet had said so itself. However, the sun had disappeared and in its wake was an angry looking storm. I peered toward the sky, waiting. No rain poured but the sound of sudden thunder shook the air, causing the wolf to whimper.

As I glanced from the sky to the girl and her wolf, I soon learned the weather wasn't some form of freak mother nature but that it was being controlled by the puzzling girl who was fixated on the sky above her. Her body shook with the tears that streamed her cheeks, her pale skin becoming a flustered pink. With every cry she let out, a bolt of lightning struck from above, as though they synchronized within each other's frequency.

My only guess was this girl had no idea she was a witch, and this insane thunderstorm was simply normality to her.

"Hey-" I tried to grasp her attention and knelt down before her, "-Hey! -that's it focus on me, c'mon, everything's going to be okay." Smoothing my hand across her cheek, I had no idea if I was crossing some sort of boundary, but I seemed to be doing something right.

Her eyes locked with mine and something snapped within them; the deafening sound of the thunder came to a halt and the shadow that once loomed over us was now replaced the evening's setting sun.

"That's it, deep breaths." I gave a small smile, continuing to stroke her soft cheek. She truly was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen, more so than Clarissa Raine from sixth year and I had never seen a girl as pretty as Clarissa, until today that was.

Once her breathing was running at a normal pace, I let my hand fall from her cheek and took a step back. It made me wonder if she often suffered from these panic attacks.

"What are you doing out in these woods anyway?"

She blinked at me, wiping away the tears that were no longer there.

"Do you have a name?" I asked.

Once again, she furrowed her dark eyebrows.

"Do you even speak english?" This time I sighed. It was no use, like speaking to a brick wall but I had to keep trying. "How about that you're a witch, did you know that?"

"I'm not a _witch!_ " At first I thought perhaps I had imagined what she said yet she spat the word with such venom, it was my turn to be taken back.

"So you do speak english," I shook my head and grinned down at her, "I knew you could understand me."

"I'm not a witch," she repeated with a slight accent I recognised, "do _you_ understand _me_?"

She was now standing in front of me with her arms folded across her chest and a growling wolf in tow. I raised my hands in defense, almost feeling the hatred that was radiating from her. "Loud and clear," I almost laughed nervously, "Merlin, what do you have against witches?"

"Who's Merlin?" she asked and I was almost sure I knew that voice, that accent. "My name is Charlotte."

"Charlotte?" She gave me a curt nod and the name sounded foreign on my tongue, "Well Charlotte, you never answered my question- about witches?"

Her face screwed up in disgust at the word. "They're an abomination; witches and wizards alike. And those wands you use? Do you realise the evil they have done to this world?"

I wanted to laugh because everything that came out of her mouth was absurd, I had never heard such troll shit. "Who has you believing all of this?"

"My mother said if I ever came across a witch or wizard that I should run, she said you're dangerous," Charlotte said and it explained her attitude towards me; the fear, the hate.

"So why aren't you running away?"

My question caught her at a standstill and I noticed she could not stop looking down at a book she held in one of her hands. My only guess was it was the book that had prevented her from running.

"What's your name?" she inquired out of the blue that I was now the one blinking at her, "You know my name, I only think it fair I know yours."

"James."

"James," she repeated as if questioning my name.

It was the first moment we had both fell silent and a moment in which we shared by staring at one another in curiousity. I wondered if she knew the name Charlotte did not suit her and if she knew that this mother of hers was a liar.

"Have you ever been to France, Charlotte?" I went and sat myself down on one of the forest's tree stumps, still wary of the wolf who followed my every movement.

I seemed to have once again caught her off guard as her head so suddenly snapped my way, "Excuse me?!"

"France?" I cocked an eyebrow, "have you ever been?"

"No, but- how- why…" she was confused and I couldn't blame her, this was a strange day for the pair of us. But I thought what the hell, I was tired of beating around the bush, I had to know if it was really her.

"Your accent," I explained, "did you know it has a bit of a French twang to it?"

"I'm not French," she shook her head furiously, "I'm- I'm-"

"What?" Standing, the wolf still growled and Charlotte forced the animal to move behind her. "Do you live here in these woods? Do you even know where _here_ is?"

"STOP!" she yelled over me and like a child would, she covered her hand over my mouth. "Just please, be quiet! I can't think, you're asking too many questions and I just can't think!"

I removed her hand from my mouth and towered over her, watching as eyes grew clouded with intense worry.

"I- I don't know where here is, okay? I don't know who you are and how you came about our land, but you need to leave and never come back, and you can't ask me any more questions!"

She was starting to back away from me, shrinking into the woods and I knew I couldn't let her leave.

"Charlotte!" I called after her but she began to run from me and even as I chased after her, she was a lot faster than she looked. No matter the amount of times I called her name, she never looked back until I called out the one name that had been haunting my dreams for the last nine years.

"Iris?!" She glanced back at me for what felt like an eternity, yet wasn't long enough, before taking off and running until I could no longer catch up with her.


End file.
